False sense of confidence again?

The 10th edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) is less than two weeks away, a tournament that will kickstart the national team’s buildup to the forthcoming ICC Twenty20 World Cup in June.

The Tigers only have eight T20Is lined up this year – three at home against Sri Lanka in March and five against Zimbabwe in April – ahead of the World Cup in the United States (US) and the West Indies, amplifying the importance of this year’s BPL.

Even though the T20 World Cup is almost six months away, talks about the tournament has already begun in the country’s cricket fraternity and even Shakib Al Hasan, who is set to return to action with the BPL, had to field questions about the event.

Shakib, who was elected as a member of parliament a couple of days back, joined the Rangpur Riders training session yesterday where he expressed optimism for the upcoming T20 World Cup considering the recent performance of the Tigers in the shortest format.

“We have played really well in the last one year. I think the team is balanced and in a good rhythm too. Everyone is playing well and we did well in New Zealand recently so the expectations will definitely remain high,” said Shakib to the media yesterday.

“Since the tournament will take place in the United States and West Indies it will suit our style of cricket. So, we have a chance,” added the 36-year-old.

Shakib’s claim over Bangladesh’s recent performance in T20s can’t be totally dismissed.

Excluding the three matches played by a second-string Bangladesh team at the Asian Games, Bangladesh had a terrific 2023, winning eight of their 11 matches, which included a 3-0 clean-sweep at home over England and their maiden T20 win over New Zealand in New Zealand.

But drawing inspiration from triumphs in bilateral series could set up Bangladesh for major disappointment as similar optimism was shared by captain Shakib and many others prior to last year’s ODI World Cup as well but that campaign ended up being the Tiger’s worst in two decades.

Shakib also pointed out that the conditions in the US and the West Indies will suit the Tigers, who are placed in Group D alongside South Africa, Sri Lanka, the Netherlands and Nepal.

But this observation also falls flat after further examination.

Bangladesh will play a couple matches at St. Vincent, a venue they haven’t played in since 2014, and two more in Dallas and New York, which are yet to host an international game.

Moreover, ICC usually produces true wickets in mega events, meaning hoping for low and slow pitches similar to what the Tigers get in Bangladesh, is not a wise thing to do.

There are also some issues lingering over the team that need to be solved as early as possible.

Firstly, the board needs to decide whether they would continue with Shakib as captain or choose Najmul Hossain Shanto, who has impressed with his leadership skills in recent times.

The board also needs to reveal how much headway has their special committee to investigative the ODI World Cup disaster made.

And without selecting a leader well before the tournament and identifying the issues that harmed the team in the past, the team can’t hope of doing well in the T20 World Cup, no matter how optimistic anyone feels.